From Rock Bottom to Building an Empire- The Journey of Jon Cheplak
44 min
•Sep 19, 20259 months agoSummary
Jon Cheplak shares his journey from addiction and $4.3M IRS debt to building a multi-million dollar business empire spanning coaching, real estate, mortgage, and technology services. The episode emphasizes the importance of staying disciplined in core competencies, maintaining consistent messaging, and prioritizing contribution over immediate ROI.
Insights
- Sustainable business growth requires both conscious hunger and unconscious desire to serve others; missing either component undermines long-term viability
- Staying 12 feet deep in one inch (mastering a single niche) for years before expanding creates stronger foundations than spreading thin across multiple offerings
- Personal development must outpace business success to prevent identity gaps where entrepreneurs out-earn their actual capabilities and discipline
- In low-trust environments, contribution-based marketing and storytelling lower buyer resistance more effectively than traditional sales tactics or ROI metrics
- Core competency should consume 60% of leadership time; delegating everything else is academically sound but operationally damaging to business insight and customer understanding
Trends
Shift from ROI-obsessed metrics to contribution-first marketing as trust recession deepens in B2B salesReal estate teams returning to personal sales activities after years of delegation, indicating market pressure and skill atrophyConsolidation of real estate tech stack around integrated solutions (CRM, email, lead generation, mortgage) rather than point solutionsPsychographic audience analysis (emotional state, uncertainty levels) becoming more critical than demographic targeting in sales messagingLeadership coaching and team-building platforms gaining traction as alternatives to traditional consulting during economic uncertaintyFounder-led marketing and content creation becoming competitive advantage as AI commoditizes generic messagingMulti-business portfolio models in real estate tech where one company owns coaching, lead gen, sales support, and lendingEmphasis on 5-year commitment timelines as baseline for business viability, rejecting quick-win mentality
Topics
Personal Development and Identity AlignmentCore Competency and Delegation StrategyContribution-Based Marketing and Authority BuildingReal Estate Team Leadership and ScalingSales Psychology and Trust-Building in RecessionMulti-Business Portfolio DevelopmentCoaching and Consulting Business ModelsEmail Marketing and Copywriting StrategyLead Generation and Sales AutomationMortgage Services IntegrationAddiction Recovery and EntrepreneurshipConsistency in Messaging Across ChannelsCustomer Problem Discovery vs. Vision-Driven BuildingPsychographic Audience SegmentationLong-Term Commitment and Patience in Growth
Companies
MSC Consultants
Provides cost segregation services for real estate investors to optimize tax deductions and accelerate depreciation
Digital Maverick
Jon's inside sales company providing VA ISAs and lead follow-up services to real estate teams across 140+ databases
Easy Home Search
National MLS platform launched by Jon selling county-by-county exclusive real estate search solutions
Rizide
Team builder platform with group activity features launched two years ago to support coaching and team development
SpaceX
Referenced as example of founder staying involved in core operations; Elon sleeps on production line
Zenith Mastermind
High-level mastermind group with 23 members including Dean Graziosi and Tony Robbins that Jon participates in
People
Jon Cheplak
Guest sharing journey from $4.3M IRS debt to building multi-company empire; primary subject of episode
Brandon Brittingham
Podcast host conducting interview; has coached with Jon for 8+ years
Jeff Hyatt
Mentioned as expert in cost segregation strategies for real estate investors
Dean Graziosi
Referenced as example of successful founder who edits social media despite having top copywriters on staff
Russell Brunson
Cited as authority on sales psychology and missing piece storytelling technique for lowering buyer resistance
Elon Musk
Referenced as example of founder staying involved in core operations despite ability to delegate
Parker
Mutual client of Jon and Brandon; example of focused execution and optimization outpacing competitors
Tony Robbins
Member of mastermind group Jon participates in for high-level business strategy
Quotes
"What got you here won't get you there. But you're still the same consistent discipline, no distraction guy and it's worked out pretty well for you."
Jon Cheplak•Mid-episode
"Simple solves the complex. It's been proven that our futures in our past. There's not a horseshoe flying through the air or a unicorn."
Jon Cheplak•Mid-episode
"If you come from a contribution standpoint and if you give away to the market, the KPIs and the ROI's are going to fucking smoke everything. You can't even source it or measure it."
Jon Cheplak•Late-episode
"60% of your day should be in your core competency. 60%. What do you do best?"
Jon Cheplak•Mid-episode
"Waking up to wealth is living a life every single day that is true to my heart and what I enjoy doing the most with my friends and family around me participating in it."
Jon Cheplak•Final question
Full Transcript
This is Wake Up to Wealth, a podcast dedicated to helping you change the way you think about wealth. And now, here's your host, Brandon Brittingham. Hey, let me tell you about my good friend Jeff Hyatt over at MSC Consultants and check out his episode if you've missed it. With today's volatile interest rate environment, real estate investors are looking for every advantage illegally available. More and more are realizing that accelerating depreciation allows them to free up cash flow and enabling them to acquire their next property sooner. MSC's approach to cost segs is the answer. If you've got properties out there you haven't done cost segs on, you're paying too much in taxes. MSC's approach to cost segs is the answer. Visit them at www.costsegs.com. And ask for my good friend Jeff Hyatt. Hey, everybody. Thank you for listening to Wake Up to Wealth. If you would, this show grows based on listeners like you. I would greatly appreciate you liking, subscribing, and leaving us a review when you can. It's listeners like you that have helped us become one of the top shows in the United States. Like, subscribe, leave a review, tell a friend, and we'll continue to bring you this content to help you wake up to wealth. Hey, what's up, everybody? We are back for another episode of Wake Up to Wealth and really, really super excited today because I've got my homie, John Cheplack, on today who I've had the privilege of coaching with for a really, really long time. What's up, brother? How you doing, man? So one thing I just want to say, shout out to all the listeners, all the support, everything you guys have done. We are consistently one of the top shows in the country and it's because of your support. We're averaging 85,000, 90,000 downloads. And it's all because you guys have supported us. So thank you so much. And I get to bring on really cool people like John because you guys support us. How you doing, brother? I'm doing good. A little tired. Just got off the, you know, I did the airport circus last night. Flight leaves Phoenix at five after speaking out in Phoenix and delay, delay, delay. Got in about 1 a.m. But I'm hanging out at my home in Vegas for a minute. So it's nice. Spends some time with my daughter. So before we get into where you are now, I've had the privilege of hanging out with you for a long time and seeing your progression and just seeing kind of where you've matured to and what you've built, which is amazing. But I also think that a cool part of entrepreneurship and everybody's story is the storm and the fire, right? That the shit we go through. I'd love for you to just talk about you came into this shit at rock bottom and built an empire. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I am, you know, from 21 to 41, the down and dirty was rehab nine times. Never got it right until 17 years ago when I was 41. But in part two, I, um, inspired myself, I was able to build a good residential real estate sales business and then I got into leadership and executive level and got in the coaching space, but just always battled that one demon. And, um, I finally figured that one out. But when I, when I, when I got clean at 41 years old, grown man, um, I had wound it down so far that I owed the IRS. I'm not exaggerating numbers. You've seen me post tax liens, screenshots of them. Oh, the IRS, 4.3 million and credit card debt and all that stuff. And, uh, it was the best, um, people can only say, Oh, that was the greatest time of my life. It truly was because it shaped me. I, uh, my brother had a conversation with me and said, you know, he can bankrupt and you can bail out on stuff. He said, but now it's time in life where you just absolutely do the right thing. You know how to make money, John, but what if you did the right thing in every aspect of your life? Just like, like, I'm like, it's going to take me for, I'll be eating top wrong with the rest of my life. Anyways, long story short, I just, I just bear down, bear down. And, and actually contrary to what most knew is, um, never had goals. Um, I mean, uh, my goal is to pay off the IRS, 4.3 million. It was so far in the distance because I was also my reputation. It wasn't, it wasn't this private unwinding of my life. The final time I went to rehab. I mean, everyone knew reputation was, boy, that guy's decent at what he does, but he just can't get his life together. And so I just, uh, from that point on, all I focused on was winning one day at a time. It's cliche, but cliche's are around because they're true. If you really live by it. And so I have nothing else to really look forward to as a victory, except for winning today because everything else was so far out. It was never going to feel like a victory. And, and so I just stuck with that, but I kept, I make sure that my personal development stayed way ahead of my success in business. And, and, and today where it's at, um, because of that, because I continued to, to keep personal development way in front of my business growth. You talk about this and coach and teach yourself a time. My identity, I have not out earned my identity, which is, um, a big challenge. Many people are facing right now with recording of this, I think. Yeah. So to give people context, like give them an oversight of what you're, like all your companies look like, like give them an idea of what you built. Sure. I was, uh, I was doing a long, long coaching real quickly and, uh, only take 40 people. And, and it's neat to see too, just to give people an example. I think it started at 1.99 the call fast forward 1.99 for a 45 minute call. 1.99 bucks today. It's a 20 minute coaching call for $2,000 and the commitments once a week. Um, but I, uh, I, I'm only going to go to 40 coaching clients. Well, I'm only going to 60 and, and I've posted because, you know, our world is a lot of top man, surely the proof. Um, I think my biggest week, so I was doing 114, one on one coaching calls and people are trading hours for dollars and there's a great lesson in this. Uh, there's two parts of it. Um, I think that you need to take risks and you need to expand and you need to grow, but too many people get too caught up in it from a distraction standpoint. Instead of being responsible when to grow. I mean, look at you, look at your transaction. You could have easily gone out as you started really expanding two to three years before you actually did. I mean, no one was staying in a game, selling 100 homes a year and having a team doing 600 and selling 200. I don't remember the conversation I had with you and this is, I, we both ran similar paths and staying going deep. We went 12 feet deep, one inch wide for years and years and years until we established, there's a couple things you establish. You get more at bats, you build a healthy foundation. Um, you just master your craft. And so I stayed in that game and just, and here's what's very interesting when you stay in it as long and look at you too, well, it's been the last three or four years. You're just, I mean, you were already in one space, but then then it's just hockey, you're crushing the real estate sales and property management. And then it's like, oh, okay, I'm going to expand this thing out, but you stayed in the game and then bam, it's been hockey stick. So I just hired coaches for the first time underneath me three years ago. Fast forward. Where's it ended up? I think I've got, uh, 14 coaches underneath me, um, just in the coaching space. One of them coaching space. We sell, um, multiple courses a year, different offerings and all different businesses. So that's in the coaching space. Then we, uh, created a, um, an, uh, inside sales company where we provide inside sales teams to large teams. So that's, that's our one business digital Maverick. And then we got into the online, this song, the last three years, then we got into, so that's digital Maverick. That's thriving. I think we're in over 140, um, top team databases. Um, then, then the search game came about, um, and I think it was just, I don't know if we're going to hit two years in the search game, the online search game. So we got the national MLS feet, easy home search. And, and we do a little bit differently. We sell county by county, uh, exclusively flow. So now we've got the, um, the conversion part, the lead follow up with our VA ISAs in digital Maverick, then easy home search came about, well, then there's another solution they're going to need a mortgage. And we just launched the mortgage business in the, uh, May of 2024. And actually I just posted about it. I think we've got about 220, 200, I don't know, somewhere in there, a million funded year to date. Um, and another, I don't know, 60 million in our pipeline. So we've got the mortgage search. We got the VA ISAs, we've got the coaching. And then we recently launched an appointment setting company for recruiting, uh, which is thriving, doing well. We're setting about 50 to 60 recruiting appointments a month per team we work with. And then I skipped over one, um, for me, as I, when I was building the coaching company, then I needed to have other coaches. Well, then, then of course it was expanding and we wanted to help all levels. With a little bit of a, a done with you. Then we launched the Rizide, um, which is a, um, team builder platform where there's group activity and that's been business for two years. And here's the interesting thing. Yeah. We've seen one of them thrives, especially in a time where, you know, we're the last one to pay the coaching consulting business vendors, et cetera. And people got to pay staff and they've all thrived. But I think it's because of, um, I don't know, you hear a lot of times, right? What got injured won't get you there. I don't know. I mean, you're still the same consistent discipline, no, we're a for affin, no distraction guy and it's worked out pretty well for you. So, um, that's where we're at today, man. And who knows what's in front of us. We've got some surprises. We just let it out. We're launching our, our, our email platform, our male chimpish software. I got to see screenshots we brought in the, uh, the, the head guy of delivery for San grid brought him on staff. And so we'll be, that'll bolt onto all kinds of different CRM. So not a promo, just telling me all the businesses. That's what we got going on, man. No, but I got a lot of smart people around me. No. So what I think is cool about that is people are going to listen to this and the entrepreneur minds going to be like, Oh, I got to do all this shit. And, uh, what I want to tell you guys from riding in the car with John for a long time is before he got here, he mastered the coaching and he mastered self promotion and marketing. And that, that was, that's what it was born for from any master discipline. Um, I want you to talk about something because I think people miss this mark. I think you're one of the best examples of starting small and blown up, but it was because of your effort and your consistency, but also your marketing mess has never changed. Right. Like where people were like, Oh, I marketed on social media. No one called me. I didn't get a response. Right. It's like, I remember like, fuck, one of the first events you threw probably 17, 18 people are there, but your marketing message didn't change. Right. Your, your principle and your marketing didn't change. Talk about that a little bit. Right. Um, well, I think the thing that, that I know you learned early on and I did too is, is that you got to decide who, who is your audience and what is the number one thing if you can determine like, like anyone, it doesn't have to be their number one to build a successful business. But for me, you know, it was discovering what is their number one thing that keeps them up at night period and going all in on it and not abandoning it. Don't get me wrong. There were times when I said, I suck at this. I need to do other things. I need to do different things. But yeah, it's fortunate to be around people that, that I watched and observed that went before me and they just stayed in their lane. And, and, and I think that, um, the thing to look at is that pick the problem that you solve, know who your avatar is exactly and do not abandon it. Um, you know, when you look at, uh, marketing, as you weave that in, yeah, but I only had seven video views or I only had 20 video views. Well, what would it cost you to get seven people in a room at a little hotel down the street? What effort would it take? And, and I think it's, um, my observation personally of my journey and watching those that have gone before me, it has been persistence and resilience. Uh, but, but you've got to have consistency in that one message because what happens is most people that are marketing, they're confusing people. What, what actually do you do? Yeah. What, what do you do? They don't know what people do. Yeah. That's funny you say that. Um, another thing too, is I think one of the things we vibe on is growth and building successful companies actually happens in simplicity. And, uh, like one of the things that I've learned from you and coach with you for a long time is a lot of times you solve a problem by just giving me a simple answer. And so talk, talk about that a little bit. Yeah. It is, um, the, and I was asked a question about a year and a half ago, what keeps saying in Africa, it's maybe it's been two years now. Um, I was asked a question of, if there's one thing even different on the come up and listen, I don't regret anything at all, got me here. But if there's one thing that I think would have catapulted me, and this comes back to the, the, um, the previous question and you'll find it just lands here is, uh, I thought, what would have done different? Oh, I would have tried to prove myself. So that tried so hard to prove myself because I would catch myself in that thing of what I do. Oh my God, I've got to think of something different. Oh my God. I've got to think, but then when I would think of something different, it was just what I was doing, finding a different way to say the same thing that brought everyone back to the one thing. So with that, it, it'll leave you, you know, because we all carry stuff. We carry an energy. We carry self-doubts. We carry, am I hitting? And, and, and so as I continued to, that's why you got to keep getting in the batter's box. You got to keep going. And as you're trying things, be able to be a third party observer and get above it and look and go, wait a minute, you're still back to just one message. And so, so the thing with, with the simplicity was holy smokes. We don't need to learn anything new. Once we've got the basis of it, we need to continually be reminded because then as, as things started working for me, it was doing the things that maybe I was doing that 70% or 80% or even 85% that I was taught years ago. And then when I started valuating people I was working with that you're like, like, listen, we're not, there's not a horseshoes, you know, flying through the air or a unicorn, you know, when, when we get on a call or, you know, Justin Hathaway, like you and Justin came in right at the same time years ago, working together, it's still the same conversations. And so it's been proven that simple solves the complex. It's been proven that our futures in our past, it's been proven because so many times it's well, let me go 12 feet wide and one inch deep. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Did you go 12 feet deep first and stay in that one inch? And it's challenging. I think A, there's a human nature issue because people get bored. B, there is self doubt if something doesn't come along quick enough. But C, this is the big one, the discernment. There's so many distractions out there with so many new things. And you'll hear one friend that's trying this thing or one area of business. We're in a, we're in a mastermind with 23 other high level folks in the Zenith mastermind with Dean and Tony. And I mean, it's a brick and I can come back from that and go, oh my gosh. Look at this. Look at this. And then we sit down for three days and go, hold it. What's our lane? And I'm not saying don't be stupid because obviously I was just in coaching, but now we're in mortgage and now we're in, you know, the VA SA sales and, and, and all that type of stuff. But I think it's, you know, always inspect the mutual client of ours. Parker, we both work with. It was in, he's, there's no one. He is like, he's lapping everyone now. I mean, he's just spiked to the football in the end zone. You know, I mean, at the pace he's going. And it was interesting. You look at his and I go back and go, conversation I have with him early in the year. How long this, this, this, this. I said, what else? This, this, this. Awesome. We can do all. But what is not, what is not who is not operating at 80% in your current business? Because we're, we're out there. Our, our, our expectations are out there. If we can get people to work with us at 80% of our expectation, we're winning is like, oh my gosh, this silo, winning that silo optimized it and, and then starts working with you. And now that thing's going. So long answer that short question. There's simplicity. Like, um, and it's finest moments right there. It's like, be willing to inspect, but they, people get bored and their identity. Then their identity comes in. You want to know why? Because what they didn't do is they, they didn't identify as a disciplined, consistent, um, committed person. They think they are, they think the results don't make you disciplined, committed and consistent results. So versus staying period of time with growth, that's where it's measured. They get this, you know, pay on a rock store and sadly for many people, um, their businesses were inflated. So their thought of who they were versus who they actually are was this massive gap and now they're paying the price for it. And, and it just comes back to A, from doing it myself, B, in watching those who have grown like yourself, um, and in our clients, futures in your past and anything that's not working. The first question that I asked myself is, well, what can we eliminate so we can go do, you know, this, this and this? Like let's, let's build a foundation before we frame the house and put a roof on it. Most got a frame on a house. It's got a shaking foundation. Yeah. No, that's so much gold in that. So you've coached so many people that are just high level top, like just top of the top, you coach the best of the best you've done for a while. What do you think is like one or two things that you've seen repetitive, like same traits, like in a bunch of your clients, the people that win, what do you see that's similar? Consciously hunger. Um, that's number one, um, unconsciously. Um, I think it's very unconscious in a lot of cases. I think that they take the next natural step of growth because they get so busy. And so, okay, I guess we need to bring people in. Well, okay, to bring people in, you got to serve people and support people. So I think consciously it's hunger. I think unconsciously it's this thing in their heart that they want to serve and help and support other people. Um, it's not just why need a bunch of people so I can make money. That's not sustainable. I'm sorry. It is not the pain of it. The challenges of it. The, no, so those are the two that are the biggest. And, and if you don't have one of the two, if you, if you're missing one of those two, I don't know that you're going to have a sustainable business. I mean, I watch you, um, a, you're, you're building businesses, multiple businesses, um, that involve other people and, uh, find the money state and care of itself and always will. We know how to do that. But the thing that I watched you, you talked about the most and as real is the pride you have in the people, uh, that are growing. And very interesting. You take great pride in it. You, you're getting people to walk through doorways of discomfort and fear. That's the game of playing. And when you can get people to walk through and facilitate, and that's an art and a science. Um, I mean, I've watched in the last week, a number of people that you've shared stories from an event that you guys just did in the thing that is, I think it's a step below a death in the family. When you look at stressors, uh, or it may be above, I haven't looked at the chart, uh, recently and it's, you know, death in the family's most stressful speaking in front of a crowd. It might be speaking in front of a crowd is number one and death in the family's number two. Yeah. No doubt. True story, man. So, um, yeah, I mean, that's, that's it. It's, it's simplest of terms right there, man. It's the hunger and, and the desire to really grow people, man. You gotta have that. Another thing that I've learned from you and I've watched you display and so many people get this shit wrong. So I want you to talk about this. It's coming from contribution, but like watching you grow your business and your marketing. I mean, I remember when there was times when you were just giving shit away and giving shit out with a no call to action and you weren't selling anything. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All this, all this principle of the book and, and we got to, you know, we can see it happen a lot in front of us too. And it's the people that we look up to too and watch that are doing the biggest things. They're still doing it. Um, it is, well, that comes back down to you though too. Brandon. Brandon principle again. Um, and the principle of contribution, contributions, the principle of the principle of obsessing over the process and detaching from the outcome. That principle of to keep what I have, I must give it away. And when you give it away and they keep what I have is there, there needs to be a new, um, I don't know, a way that that is phrased because to 100 X what you have, give it away because it's it, but it just works like that. Right. It is. I think people are so obsessed with cause and effect ROI, KPI. And I don't know. It's interesting. You know, I've never really chatted about this. I mean, here you go. You're, you're a numbers guy. Holy smokes. You've got, um, cap. Uh, I mean, you got to look at cap rates. You've got to look at cash flow. You've got to see if you can get all the. But really, Brandon, be curious. I want to flip it on you. Are you obsessed, obsessed every minute with the KPI, the level you think other people are or, or, or is your first thing? What can I do to educate and form today and measuring that thing before everything else? Which one is it? I mean, if you come from a contribution standpoint, and if you give away to the market, the KPIs and the ROI's are going to fucking smoke everything. You can't even source it or measure it. Correct. All you can do is you can say, okay, is business down? We know as a marketer, because you got to be a marketer or someone has to be in your organization. The problem is you're still the director of marketing. Cause you've got the message, right? And, and all you've got to look at is many times, even I both to probably do this. We haven't even chatted about it is, you know, how do you know you're getting a KPI? Well, is I'm doing these activities. My business is continuing to grow regardless of the market. It is. Oh, it's not. Well, let's go back and re-inspect my marketing. Oh, you know what? I haven't been hit my emails or my emails after getting at the level they need to or my social hasn't been or my, my podcast or all those type of things. And so that's really simplifying things, but I'll tell you what, most people, if they can just get into that thing, and I think also the two for five years. Yeah. Yeah. Five years. I'm glad you went there. Yeah. Period. It's always that. And so funny. I mean, now as I look back, wow, you look at five years, five years, five years is an eternity to people like these people, you know, when the, let's go in the residential real estate space, open houses suck. Really? How many have you done? One. They're done. Bro. Yeah. And so you're never going to get to, to enterprise in business or scaling business at all. So it's, it is, um, trust us. That's all we can say. Trust us. Keep your links out of stuff. Make the, and especially right now, today we are in a trust recession. We are at the lowest level of certainty since 0809, lowest level of uncertainty. Well, um, you can't sell until you have lowered someone's guard. Period. Number two, the only way to sell right now, I'm always going to give attribution, um, because this is what how, how Russell Brunson pays everyone thinks he's his bundles guy, you know, we're going to build a funnel and I'm not minimizing it. That guy's a sales master. Today, what you have to do is people have a story in their head. They have a story in their head. And the story goes like this, but if I buy right now, what if it's a wrong decision? And you know what? It's a status decision. You pointed that out status. It's purely people are worried. If I go to that company, work there and it doesn't work out. It's a status decision. So, um, right now, what you've got to have is in the contribution now more than never, and it's why our businesses right through this. I mean, like, listen, we're the last guys to get paid in the coaching space. If you tell, you know, wait a minute, I got to pay staff. I got to be rent. I got to, oh, then a coach or a consultant or put money in a fund or this with the last guys to get paid. You guess what? We're getting paid. Because, because we stayed in that principle of contribution, but then what we paid attention to, too, are the psychographics. I spoke about this yesterday. Oh, people are just positive. This to that. Okay, great. Go deeper. Where are they at? Okay. They have uncertainty. Okay. Great. Their trust is low. Okay. Good. Their guard is up. I don't care what script or dialogue, objection, hand or presentation you have. It ain't even getting to them until you lower their guard. So what does that require? Well, it requires a missing piece story. Russell phrased it that way, missing piece story. Well, that's just another way of saying feel felt found. Oh, wait a minute. You're going to teach me feel found. You're going to teach me know, like and trust a sure and because that's what works right now. People are looking for someone to trust. And so, you know, there's two parts to it is that a, what work that works now. B is, is know the psychographics of your audience right now. Where are they at? Especially emotionally, because emotion creates motion. And if you're in sales or you're growing a business, I don't care what business you're in, it requires motion. And emotion is what gets people to move. I don't care how good the spreadsheet looks. I don't care about, okay, great. I took care of, you know, the logic of it, but I've got this thing going on back in my head. Well, let me tell you a story about Sonead who, who's, who's invested with me for this long. I mean, he was one of the first guys in with you, wasn't he? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So there you go. There's, there's, there's a, a, a master sales course right there, branded that is not because it's like so freaking basic. But I think the thing is, I think we're the advanced level of what we're going to say at humbling, we're able to do and accomplish is, is not shooting past the target of the simplicity and the principles that, that studying deeper into human behavior, knowing where your audience is right now. Okay. Here's what they want. Okay. Why aren't they doing it and going into human behavior? And the only way that you're going to build that trust is a missing piece story contributing, you know, building authority, being repetitious on it. And then that emotional piece retell story. Yeah, dude. I mean, I could let you just go forever because you're a master at this shit. Um, one other thing, I got two more questions for you. First one is another thing that I've learned from you and I, and you've mastered this and I've mimicked you to master this is you never got out of core competency. And this is where every entrepreneur fucks up. I mean, you coach a lot of people. I coach a lot of people. God, every week I'm like, no, stop. What are you good at? Stay fucking there. Stay there. Like stop. That's not your core competency. Talk about that. Cause you, you've mastered that. Um, wow, this is, this is the one where it's so, so good. This is the one that now I say to people, you're too academic in your business. You know, that's for sure. So what do you mean? We read a book that told you if you can pay someone to do it for less iron. Uh, you look at the residential real estate, the team leaders and, and where they're all sitting right now is beautiful. Everyone had a badge of honor for the last, you know, for years, you know, I'm out of sales. I'm out of sales. I'm out of sales. How come they're not all posted that they're all back in sales right now? Bro. Yeah. I mean, come on. Yeah. Um, I, I, I did, um, I remember for years and years and years that everyone had an opinion and, and there were many people, this is where you're going to be conscious. I mean, yes, you always want to seek out people that have built a business that's beyond where you're at. But I think what I want you to do, my suggestion and input for folks is you've got to ask them what they've overcome first though. Don't ask trial. That's the dumbest question on the planet. How do you do it? It's stupid. Um, because that's not what's going to make or break you or be the defining moment. The defining moment is going to be when you've got to overcome, overcome stuff. And so I went all in. I'm so, oh, you're trading hours for dollars. Oh, you're trading hours for dollars. Okay. Okay. Yeah. You're trading hours. You can't do this forever. Okay. Okay. And, and I continued on and business continued to grow. But yours were the big moment hit was two years and three months ago. I was a Dean, Raci Ocean, um, Scottsdale and small group. And he was talking about, I think we all know Dean's probably got a pretty big business. He can hire and has on staff, probably the best copywriters on the planet. He's got the cloud and the Tony working together. That just, they're a brand. I mean, just anyways. Yeah. And then he talks about editing his social media posts. Yeah. And I remember, I remember getting on a coach and call after that. And you told me that story. Yeah. Yeah, man. And, and so, and then. Okay. Great. We can grab the lesson, but then here's where he gave it measurable. He said 60% of your day should be in your core competency. 60%. What do you do best? Me? I am a great marketer. Um, I better be because I've spent probably upwards of seven figures on copywriting and when you write copy, you get to see what people respond to. And don't, I mean, here's what's a great copywriter. 50% of my stuff works, but I don't know what the other 50% is until I've tested and put it out there. So that's where the mindset pieces out there too. Oh my God, people aren't going to like it or people are going to say things about me. Um, and, and let's be clear, let's be clear on that, John. 50% is, is failing. Yeah. From a percentage standpoint, like if we look at, if we look at anything in a business, if we're down 50%, we're failing. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Right. Yeah. So, so I got, um, I, I watched it. In my own business. And then I got that stamp of approval, if you will, of someone that hasn't continues to build beyond where I'm at, but I seek counsel and mentorship from and just said, Hey, 60%. And then I just went, you know what, I, I, I questioned myself consciously, but the unconscious brain chooses. Okay. The conscious brain thinks the subconscious unconscious chooses. Oh, and why did I? Oh, because I remember that no matter what, when I managed a real estate branch office, I still 70, 60, 70% of my time was recruiting. I could hire a recruiter. And then when I was a GM over multiple offices, I still picked up the phone and still recruited. And so that's the thing to note too. Gosh, why, why is that loop going? Cause there's healthy loops that are going on right now that have you where you're at. And the unhealthy part of it is you see a distraction or you read a book or someone gives you judgment. You've got to, that's where, again, it comes back to, you've got to take that time and trust your inner voice. And, and, you know, I discovered it through, you know, as I look back on, as a third party observer, Oh yeah, you bet. I never pulled away from that one thing that I did when I was an operator in what I coach and consult around. And so I stayed in that zone. And just because you can pay someone to do it, doesn't mean it's the right thing for you to do. Um, what's the thing that you do so, so good that moves the needle the most? I mean, I don't know. Last time I checked, it was interesting. I heard through the, um, the head engineer is at SpaceX Elon. Yeah. Who spent the night and moved into the Reno Tesla plant and slept on the, um, floor in the warehouse on the production line, Elon. So I don't know. I think it's okay. You can probably pay people to do that. And that's, that's the simplest principle you're right there. Where I think people are so misled. Well, I think the other thing is a testament this too. Also is the companies that you built because you stayed talking to the customer. You knew how to build what they needed because you never got removed from it. Really good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, they'll tell you it's really good. And I've said this before too, I didn't have a vision for any of these businesses. None. What I did have is, um, the ability to listen and hear. I knew the most important principle in a business. What's a business? Well, it's a problem that people have and you solve. And the bigger they get, uh, the more you're compensated, the more complicated the other, the more you're compensating, the more you do it, the more you're compensating. And so, you know, I didn't have this vision of any of these companies, none of them, except for coaching. But what happened was, is I started listening to the need was and, and, and you listen. And, and then you deliver that solution to them. And it's the same. Here's what's interesting. That's what copywriting and marketing is. You look at the last 10 emails that you sent out, you look at what performed well, what didn't perform well, you get rid of what didn't, you feed them more work. Really, really well. It's the same thing, right? Because right there, there, the difference is, is that's what's making you magnetic. That's what's building your authority. But here's what's really cool. And on the backside of that, when you go in on what that message is, you find out what their problems and challenges and frustrations are. And then they tell you what product to deliver. And guess what? You don't have to spend money on marketing. You don't even have salespeople. What happens is they say to you, you know, it's seeding the next step. They say, tell me what to do next. Instead of most organizations have to have a salesperson telling people what to do next, and that can be challenging, especially in a time where trust is very low and certain uncertainty is very, very high. Dude, I knew you'd, I mean, always you're going to put a masterclass on that. So I wanted to get you on here. I'm going to ask you one last question and I'm interested to hear your answer to this because I've actually watched you do it. And I think you're living it at this point, but. I ask everybody at the end of the show, what is waking up to wealth mean to you? Yeah. Living a life every single day that is is true to my heart and what I enjoy doing the most and my friends and family around me participating in it with me. To the extent where my wife and I a year ago said, we're never going on a vacation again when we bought our first little farm. And so, so for us, it is defined. It's living a life every single day that is 100% in our passion and our passion is outdoors on a farm and with our animals and sharing that experience with people we do business with our friends, our family. That's what waking up to wealth is, is our hearts being full. Yeah. Now it doesn't require a lot of brain power and work ethic to it, but that's and the freedom to know that, you know, I don't have to worry about things financially. And the reason I have to worry about things financially is because the identity of consistency, discipline and commitment. So yeah, it's it's it's how it all feels and being able to take care of any one final piece that you know, I come sit here with my daughter, my home in Vegas. I don't even live in. She's got nannies here full time. I can hear them in the background. And when the medical bills hit for our condition, being able to take care of everyone in your family, no matter what comes comes to you. That's it. That's well for me, man. Oh, yeah. So people that are listening, how can they follow you or get in touch with you or get more information from you? Yeah, sure. Just go to go to Chet Black Live Instagram page. I interact with folks there. I mean, I send people more to my Instagram or my personal Facebook page, not a business page, go to John Chet Black JLN, C H E P L A K, my personal Facebook page for the Instagram page, which is Chet Black Live or my website is ChetBackLive.com. And you want to there's no though between. I'm not that important. You'll be able to talk straight to me. So guys, guys, the girls that are listening, this guy has truly been super impactful in my life, coached with them for eight plus years. Probably one of the most influential people on where I am in life today. And I just want to say thank you so much for spending time with us today. Oh, man, my privilege, man. And I'm she proud of everything you've accomplished and it's all rooted in contributing, contributing, contributing. And here we are. And all your dreams, hopes and desires, folks, are on the other side of how you contribute to others. Okay, everybody, thank you for listening to Wake Up to Wealth. If you would, this show grows based on listeners like you. I would greatly appreciate you liking, subscribing and leaving us a review when you can. It's listeners like you that have helped us become one of the top shows in the United States. Like, subscribe, leave a review, tell a friend and we'll continue to bring you this content to help you wake up to wealth. Hey, this next segment is brought to you by my good friends at Rocket League dot AI, that is Rocket League dot AI. If you're in the real estate business, especially investment side, and you need a platform that can run your real estate business and talk to leads through AI when you're not able to talk to them and can qualify and get to all the leads you can't get to. Plus, it has a amazing piece of technology with a called lead detector that helps get all the people that come to your site and not opt in to opt in to turn into a lead. These are my good friends at rocket league dot AI. I'm part of this company as well. I use it to run my real estate business, my real estate investment business. Go check them out again, Rocket League dot AI. And thank you guys for sponsoring the segment. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of Wake Up to Wealth. Be sure to appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. 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